tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post8055293774520405964..comments2024-03-29T04:31:15.219-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: Like a candle in the windPastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-22348423840783253812015-12-05T10:01:29.635-06:002015-12-05T10:01:29.635-06:00James,
I think that your last comment is rather r...James,<br /><br />I think that your last comment is rather revealing. Lutheranism is most certainly confessional, but Anglicanism is definitely not. The 39 Articles are not intended as a confession, and Anglicanism has no confessions per se. <br /><br />When I was in the process of moving from Lutheranism to Anglicanism many years ago, I ask a priest about this matter. His reply was that Anglicanism is a creedal church (meaning that it is based on the three great ecumenical creeds) rather than a confessional church.<br /><br />This is supported by a statement from one of the Archbishops of Canterbury (Fisher?) some years back to the effect that Anglicanism has no doctrines of its own, but rather only those of the undivided catholic faith.<br /><br />Fr.D+Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-59696577334879935842015-12-04T13:07:13.611-06:002015-12-04T13:07:13.611-06:00Fr. D,
I purposely omitted continuing Anglicans (...Fr. D,<br /><br />I purposely omitted continuing Anglicans (such as yourself) from my statement, since I would think at least some of them would have read the 39 Articles. But what has surprised me over the years is how traditionalists, whether of the Anglo-Catholic or Evangelical or North-Ender variety, have not had their thinking shaped at all by these articles. How could an Anglo-Catholic, for example, subscribe to Article XXVIII, which says, "The Sacrament of the Lordes Supper was not by Christes ordinaunce reserued, caryed about, lyfted yp, or worshipped"? How could an Arminian-leaning Evangelical subscribe to Article XVII on Predestination?<br /><br />You are right to say that the Anglican tradition sees the 39 Articles as "yesterday's answers to yesterday's problems." That is a chief difference between Lutheranism and Anglicanism. Lutheranism sees its confessions as still relevant to today's problems, while Anglicanism thinks that theology has moved on to such a degree that its confessions can no longer speak anything worthwhile today. But I would venture to say that at least 95% of today's hot topics, including some that were unthinkable in the days of the ecumenical creeds or the Lutheran confessions, can be easily and correctly addressed by an attentive reading of those confessions.James Kellermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13159737422545602449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-90220521370070185642015-12-04T09:23:22.194-06:002015-12-04T09:23:22.194-06:00@ James,
For most Anglicans today, the 39 Article...@ James,<br /><br />For most Anglicans today, the 39 Articles are seen as a Reformation Era document, relevant to that time but perhaps less so today. They are not considered binding on anyone, as far as I know. <br /><br />I have read them; they are in the BCP that I use daily. I don't think I have ever referred to them in a sermon or other teaching. They are yesterday's answers to yesterday's problems. It is foolish to think that they should be considered normative for today.<br /><br />Fr.D+Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-81149705523101582022015-12-03T20:37:19.447-06:002015-12-03T20:37:19.447-06:00The good news is that this is the first evidence t...The good news is that this is the first evidence that I have that anyone in the Church of England or the Episcopal Church (USA)--whether high church, low church, broad church, conservative or liberal--has read the 39 Articles during the past 50 years. The bad news is that this guy apparently didn't read the 39 Articles but skimmed over them instead. So I guess I still have yet to come across someone from the CoE or ECUSA who has actually read the 39 Articles, let alone intended to follow them religiously.James Kellermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13159737422545602449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-10386122867797853412015-12-03T10:03:05.718-06:002015-12-03T10:03:05.718-06:00The CoE has been a lost cause for a very long time...The CoE has been a lost cause for a very long time. When they ceased to apply reason in a reasonably way, they lost it all. Now, they assume that words can be twisted in any manner, and mean exactly what they want them to mean, rather like Humpty Dumpty. <br /><br />Anglicanism stands as a house divided. There are many Anglicans in Africa and some in North America that hold completely true to the historic Christian faith. There are others who have lost all faith and for whom the Church is nothing more than a country club. The latter would include specifically the Episcopal Church USA.<br /><br />Fr.D+<br />Continuing Anglican PriestAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com